Television Review: The Prisoner (2009)

The following television review of The Prisoner (2009) may include some spoilers for some fans or those that have not seen the first episode.

I just finished watching the AMC network premiere of the revisioned The Prisoner, with James Caviezel and Sir Ian McKellen. It is certainly an interesting television program.

The television show starts off in many ways just as the original The Prisoner did in 1967. We are introduced to a man and immediately we are in the middle of questions. Who is he? Why is he there? What is going on?

These are questions the man we learn is called Six yearns to know answers to as much as we do. And there is the basis of the whole thing. What are the answers? Though we are given lots of clues, we are also given more than a bit of misdirection and confusion. But always, in the commercial breaks, we are given the hope that all things will be revealed at some point. Which would be a letdown, I think.

In this first of 3 nights, we get to learn that The Village is all there is. It seems that everyone has no memory of anything else. Well almost. Some do have recollections of other things and facts, like about the universe, but yet there is no connection from one fact to another.

From the onset I was let with a recurring thought. This isn't happening, it's the result of a torture. Some kind of hallucination brought on due to a hypnosis or psychological treatment meant to break Six and reveal something that he has yet to even consider.

But this is not something Six does not consider. At the same time we are given every reason to believe it is really taking place. People die, others disappear. And everyone fears Number Two.

There are things that can be gleaned from watching this first episode. We know that there is a corporation, where Six worked. It was in New York. Six resigned from it suddenly and with a bit of dramatic flair. And they are not willing to let Six walk away, at least not without knowing something they fear he learned. That is, if the corporation are his captors at all.

We know that the Towers are meant to symbolize NYC. Possibly meaning an end to innocence, or the extent of desperation some may fanatically follow. We know that control of thought and action are predicated on medications, likely mixed into wrapped foods that are the only style of meal available. We know that fear is a motivation that keeps the few that have any inkling of separate thought quiet and hidden.

But what does this all mean? Why is all of this being done?

One thing is clear, everyone is being watched all the time. Big Brother exists, just not as a Government entity. And that extends from the Village to your home right now. Perhaps only death is the means of ultimate escape.

I think that many of the people in the Village are familiar to Six. He has watched them and their actions in his work in New York. Thus they exist now, but without clear meaning.

I think that all the numbers are critical. 313, 2, 6, 147, 93, 17, 16, and especially 11-12. They all have a significance I cannot now fathom. It is a clue that Six himself states, though in a flashback to the world. It's a hidden message of some sort.

I also believe that the reference to underground is important. Something is happening under the surface, literally, at the Village. It's something that is happening in the subconscious of Six. It is the answer to our questions, I believe.

I think that this is all happening ala Total Recall. The mind of Six is trying to make sense of torture and information, but so far cannot come to grips with the reality of it all. I could be wrong but the way Six appears at most places, how things change, how they interact with his memories of the world, leads me to believe this.

Stepping away from what has been shown, taking into account several things stated by Sir McKellen and the nature of Hollywood these days, I believe this is all a reaction to the evil of not his corporation but another. Someone else wants to know the secrets he uncovered in his work. This is corporate espionage.

So I conclude with this. This revisioning of The Prisoner is interesting. It has more than enough clues and distractions to cause those who actively watch to be curious as to what happens next. It has enough purposive loopholes to make it unclear of what is a writing mistake and part of the storyline. At this point I doubt anyone can out guess what the writer's intended with assurance.

The acting has been well done. We can sympathize with Six. We too can see reason to fear Two. We can understand the dread that comes from the Clinic and the sense of claustrophobia that permeates the idyllic scenery.

Thus this is a good program. It is the high end of what television can provide, when it tries. This is not The Prisoner of 67, yet it is a worthwhile experience. It is captivating and allows time to roll by without notice. It easily inspires discussion and questions. It easily makes you believe in the experience being given.

Television rarely reaches for such lofty goals as entertaining the mind as much as the eyes. But in this case they have succeeded, and I look forward to Monday nights episodes.

Television Preview: The Prisoner (remake)

Over the years I have consistently warned my viewers to stay away from 'revisioned' fare on television and movies. Almost invariably such efforts are refuse best avoided than partaken in. But sometimes there comes an exception.



So far the previews of The Prisoner look like it has captured the essense of the original British show from 1967. Keep in mind the words essense. Because like all revisions, this one has been adapted to the sensibilities of our current time. And that likely will be the flaw of the program.



The remake will star Sir Ian McKellen and James Caviezel. Both are fine actors of high note. I believe both bring real credibility and substance to the program. There should be no question of how compelling they both can make their respective characters.

The setting will be interesting too. Filmed primarily in South Africa, the landscape - as much as there will be any considering it takes place in the confines of a desert - should add to the overall theme of the program. Desperation will be something not just discussed but also seen.

But the heart of the television show has never been the actors or the scenery. The Prisoner is enirely about what is said and done. It is about ideals. It is a surreal reflection of the world around us.

In the 1960's the world was in flux. Governments were trying to adjust to changing views in their societies. War was on the horizon, and even larger global conflicts loomed while internal strife was everpresent.

Thus the 1967 show focused on freedom. Individual freedom versus the oppressive nature of large Governments of all types. Of the ability to be unique in a world striving to ensure every peg fit perfectly into a pre-conceived hole.

It's a topic that could easily fit into the world today. A theme that sounds as true in 2009 with government-run healthcare, forced restrictions on energy usage, and plans for government to determine what is free (and/or fair) via the internet as it was for the world of the 60's. But that isn't where this show will go.

Instead this will be an attack on capitalism. The easy target of the day and the preferred evil of Hollywood. Yes it is capitalism that the prisoner Six (Caviezel) will be seeking to escape. Or so Sir McKellen has stated

"Capitalism offers you freedom, but far from giving people freedom, it enslaves them," he says. "That's part of the show's message." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091111/ap_on_en_tv/us_ap_on_tv_prisoner_mckellen

I don't agree with this view, as much as Hollywood (an institution only possible under capitalism) likes to insist it is true. But that does not mean that the show will be bad. Depending on how strongly this theme is reinforced will ultimately determine how much it can be enjoyed. Unless the viewer is just vacantly watching the program, and then it wouldn't matter if this were the revisioned V series or static snow.

So the premise is this, can you escape your Village (capitalism)? Do you even want to? What does it cost you to stay right were you are?

But that leads me to a series of questions I don't think the program will delve into. Can we escape the other alternative being pressed upon us (Government oppresiveness)? What cost of our freedoms does craddle to grave government oversight take? Isn't escaping one Village to only join another just as futile?

Deep questions. Likely not something that most television viewers expect for the ITV box in their living room. But The Prisoner is a show that never strived to just keep viewers mindlessly enthralled like American Idol. So if nothing else this remake might just succeed on that level too.

On Sunday we will all have the choice of actively allowing ourselves to be held, members of a Village far larger than the one we will see onscreen. For that price I think we will be rewarded, to some degree, with a unique experience. The only question is if it is worth the price paid.

James Caviezel hurt in morotcycle accident in Washington

I feel really bad for James Caviezel. He was injured in a motorcycle accident, that never should have happened.

It seems that he was in Washington State, and while driving down a road a man threw a bicycle out in front of his Harley. Not your normal motorcycle accident. Not even by a long shot.

Thankfully he had a helmet on, which inevitably helped him survive the incident. But it does remind me that the dangers on a motorcycle are normally not the road or the driver.

In most every case of a motorcycle accident, with an experienced driver, I have noticed that some outside force is involved. Not to say that motorcycle drivers don't just have accidents. But it is to say that most bikers are far more cautious and aware of the road than the average driver in a car.

Still I can't imagine anything preparing someone for what happened here. The big question has to be why? That question has not been answered yet. But the initial reports are saying that the unidentified man may have had mental issues. No surprise there.

I am glad to hear that Caviezel will be ok. There have been just too many sudden deaths of entertainers recently. We can all do with a bit of time before another pops up.